Why does God want us to save?

After spending a few blogs discussing debt, it is refreshing to move on to something else. In review, God certainly discourages debt. We discussed some of the reasons why He discourages debt, but I believe Proverbs 22:7 sums it up best when it says "...and the borrower becomes the lenders slave."

So if we are not going to go into debt to finance that major purchase like a car or college tuition, how are we going to pay for it? Maybe we should consider saving. ouch! Just like debt, the Bible says quite about saving. Here are just a few of the verses that encourage saving. (Proverbs 21:20; Proverbs 6:6-8; Proverbs 30:24-25 and the story of Joseph in Genesis 41). But just like debt and so many other things in our lives God can use our savings account to bring us closer to Him, or Satan can use it to hinder our relationship with God.

So let's take a few blogs to discuss saving and see what the Bible tells us about it. First, we already said that the Bible encourages savings as opposed to discouraging it. The passages I mentioned above certainly encourage saving, and there are others. So why do you think God would encourage saving? I would be very interested to hear others thoughts on this.

Here is a starting point for hopefully more discussion. My understanding is that there are two Greek words for time used in the Bible. The first one is chronos which means the chronology of things. In other words, Monday with come after Sunday and 11 o'clock will come after 10 o'clock. God ordained this measurement through creation.

But my friends that are Greek geeks tell me that there is another Greek word for time used in the Bible and that is kairos. This speaks more towards a God ordained time or at a time manifested as in Titus 1:3. I have heard this referred to as the right time or the appointed season or even season of opportunity. It is definitely more of God's reference to time than it is of man's understanding of time.

But even using verses that we non-Greek scholars understand like 2 Peter 3:8 (...with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day") it is pretty obvious that God works on a little different time basis than we do. Add to this the omniscient nature of God, isn't it a reality that God could be blessing us today for a need we will have in the future?

Many times I have had the privilege of working with Christian brothers and sisters that are struggling with their finances. Some of these struggles are a result of a job cut back or sickness. So often, after a little digging, I will find that an unexpected tax refund or bonus was received previously and used for a "much needed" vacation or improvement to the house.

Now don't get me wrong, I do believe that God may bless us at times simply for us to enjoy His blessings. (1 Timothy 6:17 says "God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy"). But I also believe that God might bless us today for a need He (and only He) knows we will have tomorrow. We must be very sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we discern God's will for His blessings that He bestows upon us.

I would very much like to hear other thoughts on why God would encourage us to save.